It
is a great pleasure to see people appreciating and admiring the charitable work
one is doing. The appreciation not only motivates the doer but also reinforces
the spirit of philanthropy among them. HOPE is one of the well-known NGOs in
Pakistan that is working for the betterment of the poor and is often applauded
for its exceptional work in healthcare and education sector.
Recently,
a Pakistani American who, in 2011, concluded a career of nearly 30 years with
Procter & Gamble, a major American multinational consumer products company,
wrote a book “When Tribesmen Came
Calling; Building an Enduring American Business in Pakistan”. In his book, he
narrates his experiences about successfully building American businesses in the
emerging markets; sharing many learnings about how business success was
achieved in the difficult markets and exploring the interplay among business,
economics, culture and politics.
In
the book, he has also applauded the work of HOPE – an NGO in Pakistan and shared
his experiences in an engaging and informative way – as only an eyewitness can
He precisely
exemplifies the work of HOPE – an NGO in
Pakistan, so remarkably that the reader will have a clear idea about how HOPE works. He,
in the book, says, “Dr. Mubina, as she is called, manages to devote time to
running an organization that has set up more than 300 informal schools, each
serving 35 to 40 children and run out someone’s home in a low-income
neighbourhood. HOPE identifies homes with the space for a classroom, sometimes
in a courtyard in a open sky, and a woman with a high school diploma who is
interested in teaching young children. such schools have had particularly
positive impact on the girls’ access to education, since parents of the girls
are much more likely to send their daughters to a school in their own
neighbourhood, run by someone they know (before we judge parents for their
reluctance to send girls to school, we need to understand the security threats
that girls face walking down the street by themselves in many neighbourhoods in
Pakistani cities – in fact, in many cities worldwide.)
He
further praises the work of Dr
Mubina Agboatwalla - a child specialist
in Karachi and chairperson of HOPE. He writes, “Dr Mubina is one of the
most dedicated and modest individuals I have worked with. Through her
dedication she has managed to convinced P&G, and several other major
multinational companies to sponsor a total of 300 schools across Pakistan. It
costs only $500 to educate 35-40 year for a whole year, less than 2 dollars per
child per month.”
He
also acknowledges the work HOPE is doing in the field of health with the
following words:
“In
addition to running schools, HOPE has also set up clinics and small hospitals
focused on women’s health and maternity services in low-income areas of Karachi
and other cities in Sindh Province. I visited several of these places with Dr
Mubina and always came back inspired.”
Dr
Mubina Agboatwalla and her team really feel honored to be mentioned and praised
in the book written by S. Qaiser Shareef. It is really kind of him to remember
HOPE while speaking of good experiences in the social sector.
